School Lockdown: Increased number of school lockdowns in October

A swathe of various recent incidents across the UK have caused schools to go into lockdown, highlighting the importance of having a School Lockdown Alert System

School lockdowns can be trigger by a wide range of events, usually as a precautionary measure. Although it is natural to assume the cause is a serious incident occurring in the school itself, the majority of school lockdowns are caused either by more minor events, or incidents in the local area. Over the last few weeks, a number of UK schools have gone into lockdown.

In Middleton, St Mary’s RC Primary School and Bowlee Community Primary School both went into lockdown following threats being made to a nearby medical centre. Police confirmed that a phone call had been made on the morning of 15th October by a man making threats directed at the Woodside Medical Centre, and schools were informed that he could have a knife. The schools locked their gates and pulled down shutters, and the incident was resolved with no injury.

Ocker Hill Infant School in Tipton went into Lockdown on Monday 14th October, after concerns were raised for the welfare of a parent. Police attended the school, which had taken the precaution of locking students inside classrooms with blinds pulled down. The matter was eventually resolved, and the school opened as normal the next day.

A school in Fareham activated lockdown protocols after two knives went missing from a classroom on 14th October. Henry Cort Community College informed the police, who provided guidance and advised that the school had taken proportionate and reasonable steps. The lockdown was eventually lifted following systematic searches of pupils’ bags.

On 10th October, Oswald Road Primary School in Charlton went into partial lockdown as a precaution after receiving a report that a naked man was seen walking towards the school. It is understood that the man was suffering a medical episode, and was taken to hospital by attending police officers.

Due to the fact that most of these events occurred offsite, there is very little schools can do to prevent them because of their random nature. That’s why it is critical that schools have a lockdown procedure in place, and alongside that, a lockdown alert system which can instantly broadcast a unique lockdown alert across the whole premises. Using an existing fire alarm to indicate a lockdown can cause confusion amongst students and staff, and goes against current government guidance from NaCTSO (National Counter Terrorism Security Office).

Bodet’s Lockdown Alert System has the ability to broadcast a unique lockdown alert, different to other emergency alerts such as fire and evacuation. These alerts can be triggered via a range of methods, such as remote control, smartphone app and wired control box. This Lockdown Alert System can either be stand-alone, or part of a larger system which can also incorporate Class Change, Synchronised Clocks, PA functionality and music streaming.

We would be happy to visit your school for a free demonstration so you can see how our Lockdown Alert System can be tailored for your specific needs. To arrange this, please contact us.